Madison Receives Grant to Educate Youth on Drug and Alcohol Use

Madison has received a $625,000 federal grant to support the Madison Alcohol and Drug Education Coalition, Jack Kramer reports from The Source.

Coalition coordinator, Catherine Barden said the town had been given the 10-year federal grant for the first five years and after re-applying this year, received the grant for the next five years.

According to The Source, the town has seen positive results from the program as a statewide survey found that although marijuana use in Connecticut was increasing, the trend was the opposite in Madison with marijuana use decreasing.

According to Barden, the coalition will focus on expanding what is already established and hopes to increase positive youth development by increasing the amount of time spent talking about drugs and alcohol.

“We will continue to partner with the police department and the school system in Madison to put programming into place,” Barden said. “We will also be holding a strategic planning session on Oct. 22.”

Programs will include bringing in speakers to high schools year round and workshops to answer parents’ questions as their children enter high school.

“The big thing is that we continue to put in the level of effort we have been in the past to to increase our presence in the community and really reach out,” Barden said.

Read the full Source article here.

Image via Shutterstock

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